Policy Committees Complete Research on Legislative Issues
NCCBI's policy committees are completing a three-month process of reviewing, revising and developing legislative position statements for the 2001-2002 legislative session. The committees finalized their recommended position statements during the last two weeks of November and will present them to the NCCBI Executive Committee at its next meeting on Dec. 11 in Charlotte.

During several meetings that began in September, the committees began their work by reviewing their position statements from the 1999-2000 session to determine what positions need to be changed or maintained. Then, other position statements were created to address new issues that are expected to impact the business community during the General Assembly's upcoming long session, which convenes on Jan. 24.

“The position statements provide a framework for our lobbying efforts when we are monitoring legislation that could affect businesses in North Carolina,” said NCCBI President Phil Kirk. “Our committees are representative of the cross-section of NCCBI's membership and provide the various perspectives we need to develop comprehensive positions on business issues.”

NCCBI committees focus on education, transportation, economic development, health care, environmental concerns and tax and fiscal policy. The newly-created Legal Issues and Workplace Policies Committee is a blend of what was the Governance, Civil Justice and Employer/Employee Relations committees. The three committees were merged last year when there appeared to be significant overlap of relevant issues among the three groups.

With a new governor and some new faces in the Council of State, state House and Senate, committees have attempted to take proactive positions on issues they believe will be high priorities for the governor and other state leaders.

“Until the newly elected leaders take office and the legislative committee chairs are named, it is difficult to determine the specific topics that will be on the front burner,” Kirk said. “But NCCBI is fortunate to have committee members who know the political insiders and do a great job anticipating what will receive attention during the legislative session.”

After the Executive Committee reviews and officially adopts the committees' position statements, NCCBI will officially unveil its legislative agenda for the next General Assembly at its annual Legislative Conference on Feb. 22 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. NCCBI's annual Legislative Reception will be held the night before, at the Capital City Club in downtown Raleigh.

NCCBI members should watch their mail in coming weeks for a brochure arriving that will contain complete information about the Legislative Conference and registration information.

Area Meetings a Success

After crisscrossing the state with stops in 22 cities, NCCBI wrapped up its annual fall membership meetings at a reception in Wilmington on Nov. 6. Chairman Mac Everett, as energetic and enthusiastic at the last meeting as he was at the first, declared the annual tour a success. “What a thrill it's been to bump into folks I haven't seen in a long time and to make a whole lot of new friends,” he said. “Now more than ever before I'm impressed by the reach of NCCBI across North Carolina and the wide variety of members we have.”

A total of 1,725 members and guests attended the 22 events, up from 1,665 at last year's 21 meetings. Attendance was down at a few, most likely because of changes in scheduling. For example, the Boone meeting, which has been a relatively well-attended breakfast, was switched to a reception this year. It wasn't anticipated that this change would make it more difficult for some members in that area to attend.

Among the many bright spots on the tour was the heavily attended meeting for members in the Burlington/Elon College area. Thanks to the diligent work of Avery Thomas, of the Thomas, Stout, Stuart, Core & Stuart accounting firm, the Burlington meeting has grown to become the second-largest one on the tour, after only the meeting for Triangle area members.

On the following pages are pictures we took at the meetings held in late October. Pictures from the rest of the meetings will be published in next month's magazine.

Membership News

New members that have joined NCCBI since Oct. 1 include: ACTS Retirement Life Communities, Columbus; Alan Vester Management Corp., Roanoke Rapids; Automax, Greenville; Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc., Canton; Chatham County Board of Education, Pittsboro; JPC Associates, Durham; Clay County Board of Education, Hayesville; Comprehensive Rehab of Wilson, Wilson; Compucom Systems, Raleigh; Condrey Heating and Air Conditioning Inc., Shelby; DP Cars & Trucks, Reidsville; Electro-Mechanical Specialties, Sanford; Enterprise Mountaineer, Waynesville; Environmental Chemists Inc., Wilmington; Ned T. Grady Inc., Kinston; Hickory Construction Co., Hickory; Hobbs Auto Sales, Clinton; Holiday Chrysler, Jacksonville; Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce, Holly Springs; Honda Suzuki of Sanford, Sanford; Injection Technology Corp., Arden; Jack's Used Cars, Rocky Mount; JITCO Inc., Fletcher; Johnston County Visitors Bureau, Smithfield; Leasing Unlimited, Southern Pines; McDowell Panel & Component, Old Fort; Morrow Insurance Agency Inc., Hendersonville; N.C. Shore & Beach Preservation Association, Oak Island; Packaging Source Inc., Kernersville; Jake A. Parrott Insurance Agency Inc., Kinston; Polaris Realty Group LLC, Clemmons; Premier Financial Services, Eden; Rigsbee Consulting, Cary; Roberts & Wellons, Smithfield; Rothchild Assets, Fayetteville; C. F. Russell Co. of N.C., Tryon; Salemtowne, Winston-Salem; Sampson County Economic Development Commission, Clinton; Scenic Chevrolet Dodge Jeep, West Jefferson; Security Storage Co. Inc., Goldsboro; Thomas R. Shephard & Son Inc., Hendersonville; Tom Smith, Salisbury; Snipes Insurance Services, Dunn; Southern Group Inc., Greensboro; St. Luke's Hospital, Columbus; Steel & Pipe Corp., Sanford; Sterling South Bank & Trust Co., Greensboro; Tri-City Inc., Rockingham; E. B. Wall & Associates, Lenoir; Wayne Family Medical Center, Goldsboro; Wells, Jenkins, Lucas & Jenkins, Winston-Salem; Weston & Associates, Winston-Salem; Wilkes County Board of Education, Wilkesboro.

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